Nicolo Fonte – OBT’s New Resident Choreographer

Nicolo Fonte

by Linda Besant, OBT Archivist

Nicolo Fonte has accepted the position of Resident Choreographer with Oregon Ballet Theatre starting with our upcoming “Season of Giants.” This is joyous news for all who treasure great choreography and for the dancers in the company. Ever since Fonte made Bolero on OBT in 2008, his work has fascinated me, and I’m gratified to find that audiences and critics all over the world agree, praising his “strong, abstract movement vocabulary,” and the way he “renders his competence in surprising, stimulating dance—original and self-willed.” (Wohlthat and Bürgin, Basel, Switzerland)

But why? What makes Fonte’s choreography so outstanding? I’ve chosen images from OBT’s gallery of photographs that are worth a thousand words to show why I find his choreography so engaging and so emotionally eloquent:

He doesn’t shy away from moments of unfettered exuberance, whether he’s working with company dancers-